[Cialug] OT: safe/reliable fuel-efficient cars.

[David Champion]

Daniel A. Ramaley wrote:
>> It's annoying how all the manufacturers do not offer manual
>> transmissions in their "higher-end" trim levels.
>>     
>
> Why is that?
>
> I just learned how to drive a manual about a year and a half ago. But, 
> i'm hoping my next car will be a manual. They are more fun to drive, 
> and has been mentioned in this thread already, require more attention 
> paid to the task of driving (meaning i'd be less likely to become bored  
> or drowsy). When driving a manual i also really appreciated the direct 
> connection from the engine to wheels. Prior to that i hadn't realized 
> how much slop an automatic transmission adds.
>   
A conventional hydraulic automatic transmission (aka "slushbox") takes 
10 to 20% of your engine's horsepower over what a manual transmission 
gives you. On top of that, many cars have a lower horsepower rating on 
the version of the engine put in automatic cars.

Some of the new transmissions coming out are pretty cool, like the DSG 
(dual output shaft gearbox) that VW / Audi and others have. It uses two 
output shafts from the engine, and all of the odd gears are on one 
shaft, the even gears are on the other. So when you shift from 1st to 
2nd, it can do so very fast (a few milliseconds) and you have nearly 
seamless power when accelerating. I haven't driven one yet, I've been 
wanting to test drive one of the VW's with DSG. They're supposed to be 
offering that with the new clean(er) TDI diesels coming out this year, 
which may get up to 50mpg.

-dc